Harlem Beat Redux
by Arl1412
Summary: The one person no one sees, is the one person everyone is watching. After her dissapreances, it begins a new chapter in her life. She enrolls in Seirin, and meets new friend, and has new adventures! The Light and Shadow will fight against the Generation of Miracles! But the problem is... What with she is a former baseball club member? FemKurokoxGOMxKagami
1. Chapter 1

Teiko Middle School Basketball Club, an incredibly strong team with over one hundred members and three consecutive championship wins. Amongst their brilliant record, the generation of five prodigies was known as the **Generation of Miracles**.

However, there was a strange rumor, one many have tried to understand but none has learned. In addition to the five unstoppable prodigies, there was another amazing player. For some reason the rumors were changed increasingly, for doubts and disbeliefs. But it is believed that there was another player, one very important to the Teiko team.

The sixth player, phantom player

Pass1: Her name is Kuroko Tetsuna

The New Year, the new students, the opening of a new world! It is spring at the private High School Seirin. Meaning the opening ceremony was over, and clubs ready to try their best to get more members.

Whether it's Rugby, Shougi, or swimming, all to all were happily expressing the joys of the clubs.

A boy by the name of Furihata Koki, with his companions Fukuda Hiroshi and Kawahara Koichi, were struggling along the crowd, constantly being asked if they wanna join this club or if they wanna join that club. They were really exhausted.

"I can't move forward! Bring a snow plow!" Furihata yelled, "We haven't moved more than 5 meters in 10 minutes..." Fukuda sweat-dropped.

"We'll get through...eventually" Kawahara smiled nervously.

"That's it! Let's go the Bulldozer way!" Furihata exclaimed, flailing his arms, "you're taking it too far..." Fukuda tried to calm him, Kawahara sighed.

SWOOSH

Kawahara blinked when he saw a teal blur duck under the brown haired boy's swings. 'Hmm, what was that?' he wondered.

"Basketball! Basketball club!" A brown haired boy with an up curved smile yelled, holding a flyer up to the many students. "How'd you like to join the basketball club?"

"Koganei, you can't be serious," A black haired behind him said frowned.

"How else am I supposed to say it?" Koganei whined confused.

"New kids, join the basketball club! The basketball club needs serious help!" the black haired boy suggested simply.

"I've had enough of your jokes, Izuki." Koganei sweat dropped as he looked at the quiet tall guy beside them.

"Mitobe, make sure they hear you!" Koganei yelled to the taller black haired male beside them. Mitobe smiled and nodded, but continued to just hand out flyers without mumbling a word.

"You're not gonna do it, are you?" Koganei deadpanned.

Meanwhile, a teal haired girl passed by the group,

"Eh?"

"What's wrong Koganei?" Izuki asked looking at the brown haired boy.

"Is someone just took some flyer?" Koganei asked confused as he felt that someone is just took a flyer from him.

"Maybe that is just your imagination…" Izuki said, didn't notice that some teal haired girl was currently reading it.

She was very small and petite, her height of 157cm, she had short teal hair that ended at her chin and bangs passed her eyes, she wore the Seirin school uniform, but her sweater was somewhat baggy, sleeves that covered her hands, and made her chest look flat. But she had snow-white skin, and she looked completely frail. In all, she was cute, but average in any others view due to her impassive face.

"Oh! You're a reader, aren't you?" A boy with glasses called as the small girl passed him by, but he stopped an unfortunate boy behind her. "How about the literature club?"

"Sorry, but this is just a manga." the boy explained, "Manga are books, too."

The teal girl still continued to walk, ignoring her surroundings, but then she stopped and looked towards the side, seeing the map of the stands where all the clubs were placed. She focused her attention to the stands listed at the end.

"Basketball! Basketball club!" Koganei continued to yell out, "join the club and you'll be cute, too!" Izuki added

"Are you guys in the Basketball club?" a deep voice asked, Koganei froze as a large shadow was over him.

He looked up to see a tall boy, the boy with red hair and sharp red eyes and split eyebrows, he had the height of 190cm. He wore the uniform, but wearing an unzipped vest with a white shirt and a necklace with a ring attached.

-xXx-

The girl glanced up from her book and saw that she was standing in front of the basketball club's desk. The two upper years – a girl with short brown hair with her bangs held back by two clips and a male with short, spiky black hair with glasses – clearly didn't notice her presence, so she made herself known by clearing her throat softly.

"AHH!"

"EH?!"

"Sorry." The blue haired female said, monotonously. "I would like to join the basketball club please."

The older pair took a few seconds to compose themselves and wondered to themselves when she had appeared in front of them without them detecting her.

"Oh, that's great! Please fill out this form." The female handed the smaller teen a piece of paper, which she took and sat down in front of them. "My name is Aida Riko and I'm the coach for the basketball team."

"I'm Hyuuga Junpei, captain of the Seirin. Are you looking to be the manager?" The glasses-wearing boy asked the recruit.

"Yes. My name is Kuroko Tetsuna. I am pleased to meet you." The blue haired girl said while bowing.

'Wow… She is so polite…' Both of them thought as Riko coughed.

"I think you may know already, but our school was just opened last year. All the sempai are only second years…"

"Yes, I am aware of that, which is why I wanted to join Seirin." Kuroko replied softly. She handed back a completed form to Riko, who scanned it quickly.

Her brown eyes widened drastically when she noted that the girl was a former Teiko middle school student, "Eh, you're from Teiko?" Riko exclaimed, but when she looked up, the girl was gone.

"What? She's from Teiko? If she's a first year, then it's possible she was from the Generation of Miracles!" Hyuuga deduced.

"But she's a girl! There's no way she was a regular." Riko countered her friend's reasoning. The two teens shrugged it off and decided they would find out in time. "So far, we have one, two… ten applications so far. Perhaps we need a few more."

"Are you casually putting pressure on your captain?" the boy sweated nervously.

"Hyuga-kun, have you always been so delicate?" the girl teased, "I'll do my best. I will do my best." Hyuga hung his head, paling slightly.

"I wonder how the recruitment is going?" the girl wondered, "If only they could just bring in some promising ones, which would be…"

"The new students are here." Koganei cried as he caught the brunette's attention, his face pale as the larger red head from earlier held him from the back of his coat. "What?" the brunette said confused, "Is this the basketball club?" the low voiced male asked both Hyuga and the brunette gaped; the red head glowered down at them.

"Yeah" the girl nodded numbly, 'who is this guy? He's got the intensity of a wild tiger!' the brunette thought. "I want to join the Basketball Club," the red head said, abruptly sitting in the chair across from them and putting Koganei onto the table, the brown haired boy slouching tiredly.

"Uh, welcome, welcome!" the brunette said, handing the red haired boy a paper cup full of water, complimentary.

"Wait a minute. I'm sure you know, but our school just formed last year. We only have second years to compete with, so I'm sure someone of your build would be-"

"I don't care. I'm going after I leave my name" the red head cut in.

'Hmm, his middle school was in America…!? I see he trained in the best place. Kagami Taiga-kun…? No matter how you look at it, he doesn't seem like an average guy' the brunette thought, watching Kagami complete the form and then chug the water. "Ara? You don't have a reason for joining?" the brunette noticed, "not really" Kagami said lazily, crushing the paper cup in his large hand.

"Basketball's the same, no matter where you go in Japan" Kagami stood up and began to walk away. He threw the paper ball behind him; it fell directly in the trash can.

The girl watched as he walked away, but noticed the bored expression in his eyes, before he quickly turned away from them.

"He's terrifying!" Koganei yelled, still lying on the table, "is he really a first year high school student!?" the brown haired boy exclaimed.

"He's one in a million" Izuki said appearing from behind.

"You! Where have you been hiding!?" Koganei yelled at the black haired boy with Mitobe behind him.

'But what was with that expression on his face…?' the brunette girl wondered as she sighed. "Forget about that, I wanna know what's up with the freshmen this year… There's a girl from Teiko and that first-year from America!"

Koganei looked surprised at her exclamation, "Eh, someone from Teiko? The middle school with the Generation of Miracles?"

"But she's a girl and she applied to be the manager anyway…" Hyuuga retorted, seeming disappointed slightly.

-xXx-

Later that day, the boy's basketball club was gathered in Seirin's gymnasium. The freshmen were conversing with one another until Riko stepped in, "Alright, it seems that everyone's here. Could all the freshmen assemble in front of me?"

All the freshmen stood in line, waiting for orders from their captain and coach. Kagami was at the end, being the tallest, wearing a black tank top and white short with normal sneakers.

Furihata elbowed Kawahara to get his attention. "Hey, isn't the manager cute?" he whispered, looking at the short haired brunette talking to Izuki.

"She's a second year, right?" Kawahara said. "If only she were sexier…"

Before their conversation could continue, Hyuuga suddenly came up from behind and whacked their heads, "You're wrong, morons." He said, being the one who punched them. They were confused but then the brunette stepped forward.

Riko announced to the club, knowing that there would be assumptions that she was the manager of the club, "I'm the boy's basketball club's coach, Aida Riko. Nice to meet you!" She announced cheerfully.

All the freshmen looked shocked at the revelation, "EHHH?! The coach?" They all glanced at the elderly man sitting on a nearby bench.

"That's Takeda-sensei, he's the advisor." She continued, not looking at all perturbed.

"Seriously? Wait, is that even allowed?"

"Well, now then… Everyone, take off your shirts!"

The males all blushed and looked at each other, clearly hesitant. Out of nowhere, a blue-haired girl appeared in front of their coach with her hand raised and she asked, "Should I take off my shirt as well, coach?"

Everyone, including the upper years, jumped in the air a good meter and screamed.

"W-wha..?"

"Where did she come from?"

"That scared the crap out of me..!"

Riko held up a hand to her chest, in hopes of slowing down her racing heartbeat. "Oh, Kuroko-chan… Since when were you there?"

"I was here since the beginning." She replied, nonchalantly as if she hadn't just scared everyone with her lack of presence.

"Eh… Well everyone, I'd like you to meet our new manager. Kuroko Tetsuna, right?" Kuroko simply nodded in reply.

"I didn't even notice her…"

"She's cute!"

"It's like she has no presence."

"Back to business… Take off your shirts! Minus you, Kuroko-chan." The brown-haired coach clapped her hands to bring the attention back to her.

She added the last part as she noticed that Kuroko was about to take off her t-shirt.

There were a few disappointed groans as soon as she stopped, which were immediately silenced by the coach's glare. "Kuroko-chan, come stand over here."

The slightly taller girl complied without a word and Riko began to analyze the topless boys in front of her.

"You." She pointed a dark-haired male, "Your instantaneous strength is weak. I'm guessing you must be around 50 steps for twenty seconds on the quick ladder training exercise, right? If you want to play basketball, you should improve that a bit. You, your body is too stiff. Train your flexibility after getting out of the bath! As for you…"

The boys being told about their weaknesses were in disbelief over their situation, especially because she was correct about everything.

Hyuuga thought this would be a good time to mention that her father is a sports trainer and that she spent every day at his workplace looking at muscles and data since she was young.

"Just with a glance, her eyes can see all its abilities and stats." Hyuuga smiled as he said this. When Riko came across the last member in the line, she stopped, looking in awe at the body in front of her.

"… What?" Kagami inquired, staring down at her.

'What the hell? His numbers aren't even close to everyone else's! They're amazingly high and definitely not expected of a first-year in high school… And on top of that, I can't seem to estimate his full potential! This is… Natural talent!' Riko admired silently.

"Coach! How long are you going to daydream?" Hyuuga snapped at her. The female coach hadn't even realized she had spaced out for such a long time and that she actually had a small trail of drool coming out of her mouth.

Embarrassed, she wiped her mouth with her sleeve, "S-sorry! So, err…"

"That's the last of them, right?" Hyuuga pointed out.

"Yeah, okay, let's start practice then!" Riko yelled, but Kuroko still looked at the red haired boy as she sighed.

-xXx-

At some Basketball court, Kagami was practicing some shots on his own. He aimed to throw the ball but then his focus was destroyed by some sound, "That is a good form there, even if it's a bit off." A female voice commented, making him throw the basket and the ball hitting the ring and landing in two small hands.

"When did you get here?" Kagami asked, glaring at the girl.

"I'm here few minutes ago," She answered as he opened his mouth, the blue haired girl quickly retorted emotionlessly. "And if you want to ask why I am here, then the answer is I am just watching you playing basketball here."

Kagami eyes twitched at her answer, but he still remained calm as he looked at her. "I was in America until my second year of middle school" Kuroko blinked as Kagami began, "I've been appalled ever since I came back by how low the standards are here" Kagami explained.

"I'm not looking to play Basketball for fun. I want to play a very serious game that really gets me excited for fighting." Kagami said as Kuroko stayed passively.

"I heard all about you. I've heard all about the supposedly strong the Generation of Miracles from our year." Kagami continued, "You were on that team, weren't you?" He said, but Kuroko still put her emotionless face.

"I have a good sense at how good the others are. People who can succeed at something smell different from the rest" Kagami said, spinning the basketball on his finger.

He then threw the ball back at the teal haired girl, who caught it easily, "But something's not right with you. The weak should smell weak, but you… You don't smell like anything and your strength has no scent" Kagami said.

"I don't smell? But I put on some perfume this morning" Kuroko sniffed herself.

"That's not what I meant, brat!" Kagami growled.

"Let me see. Show me…" Kuroko turned her attention back to the red head, seeing how deathly serious he was. "Show me just how good your Generation of Miracles really is" He smirked like a wild beast.

Kuroko who saw his feral grin, face immediately sighed. "It seems that we have a same thing in our mind." She said as she unbuttoned her black blazer. "One on one"

Kuroko stared down at the red head, her large, dull eyes actually showing the competitive emotion.

"Heh, you wanna go?" Kagami grinned, feeling the excitement rush him.

-xXx-

The two were in a stance of a showdown. Kagami dribbled, planning his move as Kuroko just stared at him with her void of feelings eyes. Kagami started charging and jumped for a dunk, his eyes widened when suddenly the ball snatched from his hand.

'She…'

Kagami dribbled the ball, but the ball is quickly taken by the teal haired girl.

'She…'

Kagami jumped to dunk, but mysteriously the shorter girl immediately snatched the ball from her hand.

'She…'

Kuroko dribbled the ball and immediately she passed Kagami.

'She is so good!' Kagami panted. 'She doesn't have the physical prowess to play basketball. But she makes up with her skill alone and her observation…' He thought as he gritted his teeth. 'But then…'

Kuroko tried to shoot, but Kagami just smacked the ball out of her hand. 'Why the hell she can do her shoot properly!? Hell even amateur person shooting is better than her!' he thought as he watched Kuroko chase after the ball rolling away like a child. 'This is ridiculous'

Kuroko ran back with the ball in her hand, she stood in front of him, waiting to continue.

"You've gotta be kidding me. Have you even been listening!? How much do you have to overestimate your own abilities to think you can beat me!?" He yelled, "I can't believe how arrogantly you challenged me without any shooting skills!" Kagami yelled outrage.

"You can't be serious" Kuroko said surprised, although her tone still unwavering. "Of course I can't shoot properly… I am only playing basketball for 2-years now. I am a former baseball athlete you know."

…

"Are you trying to pick a fight with me, you brat!?" Kagami yelled angrily, Kuroko stayed blank.

"I wanted to see how good you are for myself and my play." Kuroko explained, her blank eyes shining suspiciously.

"What?" Kagami said confused. 'Unbelievable. There must've been something wrong with me, too. 'I feel like an idiot.' Kagami groaned, he face palmed in dismay.

'Hmm, Kagami-kun seems distressed, I wonder why?' Kuroko thought blankly, not really knowing it's her fault.

"Um…" Kuroko held up the ball to the red head.

"Enough" Kagami waved his hand tiredly. "I'm not interested in a person with half-assed potential like you who taking basketball ligh-"

WOOSH

A ball suddenly passed Kagami head just barely hitting the iron fences, with an unbelievable speed and force that make the iron fences resounding loudly. "What the hell!?" Kagami yelled, he glared at the still standing girl.

Apparently the quiet girl threw the basketball near his head. "I don't accept that…" Kuroko said, her eyes was blocked by her bangs.

"Huh!?" Kagami growled as he began to stand up, rubbing his pained face.

"First of all, my seriousness in basketball is same like you." Kuroko said as the image of the burned Teiko middle school baseball club jersey, iron bat and trophies came to her mind as she added. "And I don't share your opinion. I don't care who's strong or who's weak"

"What did you say?" Kagami asked confused.

"I'm not like you." Kuroko said as Kagami raised an eyebrow.

"I'm a shadow" Kuroko said, her teal eyes staring at the ball in her hand.

Kagami could only stare at the mysterious teal haired girl in confusion, but he could sense, at least in the slightest, the sheer intensity surrounding her.

-xXx-

It was raining heavily the next day, so the basketball team was confined to indoor work. Kuroko looked at the data of players as she looked at Riko. "Coach, what we should do for today?"

Kuroko was not one to feel comfortable with calling other people by their first names, but the other female had adamantly insisted that she do so. She had to acknowledge Riko's persistence, so she gave in.

"Hmm… Let's have a 5-vs-5 mini match between first and second-years!" The brunette announced.

"A match against the upper years, that means…!" One of the freshmen trailed off, looking frightened.

"Do you remember what they told us when we joined the club? Their result from last year… With only freshmen, they made it until the finals of the Interhigh!"

"Seriously? We're completely out of our league!"

Contrary to the other first-years, Kagami looked fairly excited at the prospect of playing against his upperclassmen, "There's nothing to be afraid of. It's always better to have stronger opponents than weak ones." He said as while smirking like a beast.

"Let's go." Kagami added the freshmen could only panic even more, Kuroko who watched it only sighed.

'Let's see exactly what these rookies can do…' Riko smirked, the two teams ready.

TWEEE

Kagami was the first to get the ball, passing to Kawahara, the seniors tried to block his path. But Kagami just as quickly was on the other side of the court; Kawahara passed the ball to him.

"Raaaahh!" Kagami then jumped and dunked harshly, both teams in awe.

"That dunk was unbelievable"

"Amazing"

'They're better than I expected' Riko stared in awe of the giant, 'such destructive force for such unpolished, intuitive play.' Kagami hung onto the basket but hopped off,

"This is unbelievable" Hyuga said, wiped the sweat from his brow. 'He's more than ready. He's a monster….' He thought.

Kuroko watched observing from the side as she looked at the junior team that was talking about something as she took the note of scores.

The game continued with Kagami dunking heavily each time, the senior nowhere close to stopping him. The score is now freshmen: 11, seniors: 08.

"I can't believe the first years are this strong" Hyuga said while wiping his sweats.

"Kagami's doing it all himself!" Koganei panted.

"But still…" Izuki came as he looked at Kuroko that took the note from the side while talking to Kagami about something. "Don't you think it's weird for Kuroko-chan to change his position each time he scored?"

"Yeah, that's true…." Koganei said as Kagami walked away from Kuroko with angry expression in his face.

'Shit! What is that brat, planning!?' Kagami cursed inwardly, glaring at the small teal girl who was apparently taking the note silently from outside the court.

Izuki stole the ball from one of the first-years and went to complete a layup, but the fierce redhead caught on and blocked the shot.

"So high!"

"Nothing can stop Kagami now!" Kawahara enlightened.

"Guess it's time to put them in their place" Hyuga said, "It's on," Izuki agreed. Kagami was then passed the ball but was then surrounded by all three seniors, "three!?" Kagami tried to move but wherever he moved, the seniors stopped him.

"They're desperate to stop Kagami!"

"They're double-teaming him even though he doesn't have the ball!" Fukuda said seeing the red head that lost the ball was still crowded.

"They have no intention of letting him touch the ball!"

The freshmen were powerless against Hyuga's throws, Mitobe's dunks, and all of the steals with Kagami out of commission. The score now freshmen: 15, seniors: 31.

"They're good"

"There's no way we could've won"

"I've had enough"

The three freshmen panted heavily, seeing they have no chance against experienced senpais. "Enough? What the hell are you talking about!?" Kagami growled, grabbing Furihata by his shirt.

"Please calm down" Kuroko kneed the back of Kagami's knees, making the other bend back oddly and drop the brunet.

"You damn brat…" Kagami growled, an evil aura around him but Kuroko merely sighed.

"If Kagami-kun does not calm down, how will you have any chance of winning this match?" She replied with a stern tone to her voice and everyone wondered how their manager could be so brave in the face of a wild tiger.

Koganei looked over to Kagami that was yelling at Kuroko as he sweat dropped. "Looks like they're fighting" Koganei noticed, Izuki's eyes widen then. "What's wrong?"

"Wasn't she just in the outside of court?" Izuki asked, finally noticing the small girl with the impassive face while being yelled by the red head and the freshmen trying to calm him.

"Kuroko? I dunno. Odd though, how could we not notice the girl walking around the court." Koganei answered, seeing the red giant swing at her which she dodged evasively, angering the red head.

Riko looked at the teal haired girl with surprise, 'Even I didn't see her moving around…' She thought in shocked, then she gasped, her pink whistle falling out of her mouth.

She watched as Kagami tried to attack the small girl, his teammates preventing him from hitting her since she is a girl, but Kuroko stayed impassive. 'Huh? Isn't this Kuroko's note?' She thought looking at the note on the floor as she took it and read it. 'I-Isn't this!' She thought looking at the shock as the game continued.

Fukuda dribbled the ball as he looked at Kuroko remembering what she said from before.

"_You won't be able to score with all of your current level aside from Kagami?" Kuroko said while dodging, Kagami's attack. "But at least what you must do is taking this into draw, and here is the plan for that."_

'I don't know what that means, but please let it work!' Fukuda thought as he passed it to Kagami and the senior prepared to take it from him.

But as if everything went slow, suddenly another freshmen running and took the ball and threw it in.

The second years stood in amazement, "it went…what?" Hyuga stood surprised, "how did that pass go through?" he wondered, the rest also surprised.

'Why do I feel uneasy? Is something unbelievable happening?' Riko wondered, her mind in a panic.

Kawahara had the ball, so he tried his hardest to keep from the senpais, he noticed Izuki's look to him as he remembered what Kuroko told them about.

"Izuki-senpai's specialty is his calm and his sharp eyes, using his eyes he could at least make the most capable strategy to pass or block any movement around him." Kuroko explained as the freshmen shivered in fear and awe at the explanation. "But don't be afraid… His vision is still human's vision, he still has a blind spot."

He then dribbled it into Izuki's back as he was shocked at the sudden movement, "W-What!?" He gasped as he quickly passed it into Fukuda.

"Go for it! Shoot!" Kagami yelled, which Fukuda awkwardly did so, earning another point. The game continued like that, the freshmen getting surprising by the fact that the freshmen is holding their ground with them and even devise plan like this.

Both sides were surprised, Kagami and Riko were both trying to figure how all this was happening.

"They're using our weakness to pass the ball and made the shot before we realized it!" Izuki said confused.

"What's going on?" Koganei asked and complete confusion as well.

'I-It can't be…' Riko thought looking at the freshmen that was praising Kuroko which she only nodded and hearing that. 'She is not even in the court and she knows all players data in such accurate! Could she been already knowing our school's power level, but that can't be…'

Kagami took the pass from the freshmen as he looked at Kuroko which was only stayed silent.

"Now the senpai is in the midst of chaos because our sudden increase and change in our way of playing… Kagami you can do the rest, right?"

'This is Kuroko's…' Kagami watched the teal girl in awe as he dunked the ball hardly.

'She… She can't be that, right? The genius game maker who excels in both defense and offense from Teikou!' RIko thought in shocked. '

The senpais and Kagami observed the play that started to rise again.

'Damn it. I got caught up in Kuroko's pass!' Hyuga cursed inwardly. Kagami shot and earned another point, now the freshmen were one point away, 36 to 37.

"I don't believe it! It's a one point difference!"

Koganei passed to Mitobe, but Fukuda blocked it and threw the ball up and…it bounced off the rim.

Suddenly a hand caught it, "But still…" Kagami said as Kuroko smiled a bit. "It doesn't mean I acknowledge you damn it!" He dunked the ball.

-xXx-

"Thank you very much" a female worker of Maji Burger bowed to Kagami with a large tray of a whole lot of burgers. He went to sit at a table by the window; he ate the burger one whole bite after another while looking outside carelessly. He glanced to the chair across from him, and then stopped in mid-bite. There sat Kuroko, sipping her drink as normally as it would look.

Kagami gasped in shock, accidently swallowing too fast, "hello" Kuroko greeted casually, Kagami swallowed hard. "Where'd you come from?" Kagami said, still in shock at her sudden appearance. "Oh, I heard from storks" Kuroko answered, "that's not what I meant, brat!" Kagami growled.

"I was sitting here first" Kuroko finally answered, "I like this place's vanilla shakes." She sipped her drink to prove her love for the drink.

Regaining his composure, Kagami glowered at the girl, "Go somewhere else" he said, his scary face present.

"No." she answered, then sipped her drink.

"No! How could you answer so blankly!?" Kagami was beginning to lose his temper, 'Usually people would run away!' HE thought amazed to see such a small girl have guts to stand her ground.

"I don't want to" she explained, "if someone sees us, they'll think we're friends! Or worse! That we're dating!" Kagami explained, a light blush on his cheek.

"That would be terrible," she said in a monotone voice.

"Oi!" Kagami yelled angrily at that remark, 'I don't know why but that both irritates me and makes me feel bad!' Kagami's eyebrows twitched.

"But this is my usual hangout" Kuroko said, not backing down even though she didn't sound the slightest serious.

Kagami sighed tiredly, deciding to give up. Kuroko was about to drink her shake some more when she instinctively caught something in her hand.

'A burger?' seeing the Maji wrapped burger in her hands, she looked up at the red head.

She saw him looking away from her and towards the window, avoiding her gaze. "I don't like anyone who suck at Basketball" Kagami began, but then he smiled lightly. "But you've earned yourself one of those."

Kuroko was surprised; she felt her cheeks turn lightly red, her heart beating at such words, even if they weren't much, it made her feel warm. "Thanks" she mumbled, looking down at the burger, trying to rid of this odd feeling she never knew how to deal with.

'This feeling…is just too weird…' she thought as she unwrapped the burger, and bit onto it, making a small bite.

"Thwis wis gwood" she said with a mouth full, her monotone voice back to normal.

"Its not lady-like to talk with a mouthful" Kagami said, his face dead panned.

After Kagami finished all of his burgers, he gentlemanly offered to walk the small girl home, even if it sounded more of an order.

"By the way you still don't tell me, how strong is the Generation of Miracles?" Kagami asked, the two walking down the still bust sidewalk, already evening. "If I played them now, how would I do?" the red head asked, Kuroko sipped her still half-full milkshake.

"You'd be destroyed instantly." she answered as soon as he finished asking, a vein popped on the larger athlete.

"Do you have to put it like that?" Kagami growled.

"The five prodigies have each gone on to play for their own schools. One of those schools will stand at the top." Kuroko explained.

"Hehe…hahahaha! That's great!" Kagami laughed, almost evilly.

'Is he a villain?' Kuroko wondered, sipping her shake as the two stood by the road.

"That's the kind of thing that lights a fire in me" Kagami said, Kuroko blinked. "I've decided. I'll crush all of them and become Japan's best player" Kagami declared, he smiled in excitement, Kuroko observed him.

"I think that's impossible."

"Hey!" Kagami yelled, an angry mark on his head.

"I don't know about your talent. But the current you is impossible for that." Kuroko said simply.

'This brat is so not cute!' Kagami gritted his teeth. The two crossed the street, but then she stopped at the other side, looking at the ground, Kagami watched her with his hands in his pockets.

"You can't do it alone…" Kagami blinked at Kuroko word. "If you are the light of Seirin then I will be the shadow. But the stronger the light, the darker the shadow, and the more it accentuates the brightness of the light" Kuroko said, an image of her former teammates came to her head.

"I will be the shadow of Seirin, and make it the brightest team in Japan." she said finally, looking up at him.

Kagami was taken by surprise, he almost thought it was a joke, but he saw the dead serious look in her eyes. He inwardly grinned, 'interesting' he thought in amusement.

"Look who's talking? Do whatever you like" Kagami said. "I'll do my best" Kuroko smiled warmly, her happiness showing off. Kagami couldn't but blush at the adorable smile, feeling its radiating aura.

'H-how can she be so impassive and make that kind of smile!?' Kagami yelled in his mind, feeling his face get hotter when he saw the doe teal eyes stare directly at him.

'How come I never noticed…but she looks kinda cu-!' Kagami face palmed, confusing the tiny girl.

'Kagami-kun's face is red? Is it hot?' Kuroko wondered, a question mark above her head. 'Is my training from before is really too harsh for him?'

Kagami glanced back at the teal haired girl with his sharp red eyes, she returned the gaze with her large teal eyes. Kagami smiled, Kuroko returned the smile.


	2. Chapter 2

Kagami was walking around school looking for his sempai, 'Oh man, I'm so excited. I can't sit still' Kagami grinned to himself.

He was scaring the students he passed by since he did have a very… unique face?

'I don't care if it's not an official match. I just wanna play them!' Kagami's excited aura vibe, scaring everyone off. 'If the Generation of Miracles are so amazing…I really wanna play them!' He smiled as he really did look terrifying when he's happy.

Then the red head noticed his sempai, Hyuga, up ahead.

"Captain!" he called, the glasses wearing boy looked back at him. "When can I play in a match?"

"Match? You can' play yet" Hyuga answered simply.

"Wha-what!? Why, Captain?" Kagami demanded. "How am I not good enough?"

"You're still a trial member. You're not an official member yet" Hyuga explained.

Pass2: I am serious*

Meanwhile, Riko was in her class, drooling over some basketball characters in her Playstation Vita system. When she began sipping her juice, "Coach!" Kagami yelled, instantly Riko had a spit take on his face.

Kagami wiped it off, "Coach, give me an official club membership form" He demanded.

"What is it with today? You, too?" Riko complained, wiping the juice from her mouth.

"Too?"

_Riko was playing with her handheld game, "Coach, I'd like to ask about something." Kuroko asked, standing at the side of Riko's table. _

"_KYAA!" Riko shrieked as she accidentally threw her handheld game and Kuroko caught it._

"_Safe!" Kuroko thumbed up at you, "Who're are you thumbing up too!?"_

'She came here without me…' Kagami growled to himself

"Just how impatient are you rascals?" Riko said.

"What'd you call me!?" Riko pulled out the form and handed it to the red head, "well, you both have potential, and we've got room on the bench, so we'd be happy to have you" Riko said.

"Yosh, now I can play in a game, right?" Kagami grinned

"Wait a second. I'll only accept your form on Monday at 8:40 on the roof" Riko explained, Kagami just blinked in confusion but nodded.

Kagami walked down the hall by himself, 'Wonder why Coach wants us to give it to her on Monday at exactly 8:40, on the roof no less…is there something I should be remembering?' He wondered, but shook off the worry.

CTHANG

Kagami turned to side as he heard the sound of iron bat hitting ball as he looked outside the window and saw the female baseball club was training in outdoor field.

"_I am a former baseball athlete you know."_

'Oh right, to think about it she is mentioned herself as a baseball member.' Kagami thought as he saw that a female member of baseball club hitting the ball really hard which makes it flying high into the outside of fences.

"Heh, maybe baseball club is not too shabby at all…" He said in awe.

"Well it's surely amazing…" Kuroko said suddenly appeared.

"AH!" Kagami yelled, his heart shooting out in fear. "You! Can't you just show up normally like everyone else does? Stop popping out of nowhere!"

The girl put her frail index finger over her small lips, which she puckered slightly.

Kagami turned red at the sudden movements, 'That's so…! So…!' Kagami covered his face in embarrassment.

Then Kuroko's lips began to move, catching the red head's full attention. "Shh, we're outside the library now." Kuroko pointed to the sign.

Kagami's eyebrow twitched, he punched his fist onto her head, as lightly as the teal haired girl could take. "You making fun of me? You're making fun of me, aren't you!?" Kagami growled noggin the teal haired girl's head.

"No, and that hurts, Kagami-kun" Kuroko said still monotone.

Kagami sighed and released her; she tried fixing her now messed up hair. 'I can't believe that the girl who cornered me, without letting me to scored is this girl and not to mention she is a former baseball club member.'

Kagami growled, glancing back at the small girl. Kuroko had a small tear in her eye as she still fixed her hair. Kagami felt an arrow shoot threw his heart.

"_I don't accept that"_

"_First of all, my seriousness in basketball is same like you."_

"_And I don't share your opinion. I don't care who's strong or who's weak."_

'Don't share my opinion, huh?' Kagami thought, his eyes dazed making the teal haired girl gave him puzzled look.

"_I will be the shadow of Seirin, and make it the brightest team in Japan."_

'This is getting me excited! Soon I'll be able to play the Generation of Miracles!' Kagami thought excitedly, 'which reminds me… The Generation of Miracles all went on to play for strong schools.' He regained his composure, 'why didn't Kuroko go like them or playing in baseball club again?' Kagami wondered.

"Hey, Kuroko-" when he called, no one was there.

'Heh, it doesn't matter…' Kagami smiled as he walked away, 'Cause I'll glue her to the ground the next time I see her' Kagami had an evil dark aura around him, still smiling but almost evilly. Any student that past by flinched or shivered in fear.

-xXx-

"You're going to do it again this year?" Aida Kagetora exclaimed in response to his daughter's announcement.

"In order for them to reach their fullest potential and be focused at all times, they have to show that much courage at the very least." Riko said as she was writing something on the paper.

"You sure it's not a ploy to get you?" Kagetora sweat dropped.

"Well, I want them to get me again this year."

"You're so reckless. Just like your mother. Anyway," Kagetora opened the door he was leaning on. "I'm happy to see that you're so passionate, but staying up late isn't good for a young lady's skin. It's best if you get some rest."

"Just a little longer. I want to finish the second-year's training program first. I'll sleep after that." Riko said as she had remembered something.

"Ah, Papa?"

"What is it?"

"Quite a while back, you told me something about the Generation of Miracles, right? That rumor about the Phantom Sixth Man…"

"Oh, that? I never did say it was a rumor."

"I always thought it was one."

"On the contrary to that, it never was. What about it, anyway? If it's about her joining your team, I know all about it already."

"Papa, do you mean that Kuroko is the one?" Riko asked shocked and confused.

"Yup."

"So she isn't a… manager?"

"Well…" An image of teal haired girl who was training inside the gym and putting her lips on her mouth came to his mind, "You better ask the person herself about that. That aside, you should be sleeping soon. Don't push yourself too hard, okay? Good night." He said

"Good night, Papa."

Riko wanted to ask her father more, but she had the feeling that he wouldn't tell her even if she asked.

Slowly she took her phone as she searched the name, 'Kiyoshi Teppei'.

-xXx-

"Why're you following right behind me?" Kagami growled,

"I'm going to the roof top too," Kuroko answered.

"But you're standing right beside me, people will misunderstand!" Kagami blushed lightly, growling.

"Misunderstand what?"Kuroko tilted her head.

"…!" Kagami was speechless, too embarrassed to explain.

"They're ignoring us" Furihata finally said, him and his two companions along with any others who are heading to the roof.

"Its amazing how Kagami and Kuroko-chan are in their own world when they fight" Kawahara smiled nervously.

"Yeah~ But I think its cause Kagami doesn't know how to deal with girls" Furihata guessed.

"Shhh!" Fukuda shh'd him, "don't say that, or else he'll get mad!" He scolded him.

The three looked back to the red head, only to see him still deep in his one-sided argument with Kuroko.

"Guess Kuroko-chan really is tough against someone as big as Kagami" Kawahara said, the other two nodded.

-xXx-

"Fufufufu... I was waiting!"

Kagami gave a deadpan expression and inquired, "Are you an idiot?"

"I do not think you should be one to criticize others for their stupidity, Kagami-kun..." The blue-haired girl said, her facial expression not changing, but if one listened closely, one could hear the faint tone of amusement.

The others that were present stifled their laughter.

Kagami turned a faint pink and shouted, "Shut up, Kuroko!"

"If you keep using that tone of voice with me, perhaps I should double your training, Kagami-kun."

"E-eh?! No, please don't, Kuroko! I'm sorry!"

The other three freshmen glanced at each other and chuckled nervously, 'Who knew Kuroko-chan could be so sadistic?' They thought at the same time.

"Coach" Kuroko called

"hmm?" Riko answered looking at the teal haired manager.

"The morning assembly is in five minutes"

"Eh!? I totally forgot it was today!" Kagami yelled, the other freshmen sweat dropped.

"Forget it, just take the form already" Kagami said, holding out the sheet.

"Before that, I have something to tell you" Riko said while smiling.

"Huh?" the freshmen said in union, Kuroko blinked.

"I made a promise when the captain asked me to become the coach last year." Riko began, "I focus on only pushing the team toward the national championship!" She said, "If you don't think you're ready for that, there are other clubs better suited for you"

"Huh? Of course I'm-"

"I know you're strong" Riko cut off Kagami, "but I need to know you have something even more important. No matter how hard you practice, someday and maybe aren't good enough" She explained.

"I need to know you have ambitious goals and the will to accomplish them" Riko smiled.

'She's insane!' the freshmen thought

'She's a little off…' Kagami paled

'Coach is really enthusiastic…' Kuroko thought in admiration.

"Now, give me your year, class, and name. Announce your goals here and now" Riko said, "and if you fail to achieve them, you'll come back up here and…" Riko smirked, "Strip naked, and confess your feeling for the girl you love."

"EHHH?!" All the freshmen, minus the blue-haired girl, looked shocked beyond belief and started whispering amongst themselves.

"What? I didn't hear about this..!"

"Well, they may have mentioned it in passing when they recruited me, but I didn't think we would actually go this far..."

"I'll repeat what I said earlier, but you have to have a concrete objective, so if you have any sort of weak notions like 'let's pass the first round' or 'I'll do my best,' discard them now! ... Or I'll discard you instead." Riko grinned, impishly.

"Shit, I think she's actually serious about this..." Furihata murmured under his breath.

"The teachers will be angry about this later!" Fukuda replied.

"Che, this is too easy; it's not even a test!" Kagami leapt up onto the railing of the rooftop, his actions earning several gasps of concern, "CLASS 1-B, KAGAMI TAIGA! I WILL DEFEAT THE GENERATION OF MIRACLES AND BECOME NUMBER 1 IN JAPAN!"

Hyuuga, who was one of the students standing below, smiled as he heard the commotion that the yelling had caused. 'So she is doing that again this year?'

Kuroko felt her heart thump and red rise in her cheeks. 'Amazing…' she thought of his declaration, thinking the feeling was of admiration. Kagami hopped down, Riko smiled at him, the red head walked back.

"Who's next?" Riko called, some of the freshmen were still scared. 'Wait? Was it impossible for Kuroko-chan too? Hm?'

"I'm sorry, but I'm not good at speaking loudly" Riko flinched, she looked beside her to see the teal haired girl there, Kagami sighed at the girl.

"Can I use this?" Kuroko held up a megaphone, "where'd you get that?" Riko smiled nervously.

Kuroko turned to the railing and looked out at everyone, the freshmen and coach watched.

They were surprised to see the sun shine on her pale skin, the teal hair and eyes actually glowing with the sun, the wind blowing her hair.

'So pretty…!' the three freshmen blushed, but the coach and Kagami paid more attention to Kuroko's facial expression.

Her eyes were dead serious, not wavering of feelings; she took a deep breath and-

Slam!

"Hey! The Basketball club again!? " A sensei barged onto the rooftop, stopping Kuroko from speaking.

"Crap, we were almost finished" Riko groaned.

-xXx-

At Maji Burger again, Kagami grabbed a whole tray of a large amount of burgers, again. He walked towards the table he sat at last time, and sighed tiredly.

"Che, I can't believe he got so mad over a little shouting" Kagami grumbled, sipping his drink and looking out the window.

"I didn't even finish, and I got in trouble, too" Kuroko said, sipping her milkshake.

Kagami gasped in shock, accidently spitted his drink. 'Maybe I should start going somewhere else' He thought tiredly.

"We aren't allowed on the roof anymore" Kuroko continued, Kagami blinked and turned to the smaller girl. Kagami's eyes widen, Kuroko was pouting, looking down at her drink.

Kagami flushed, his mouth gaping, 'h-how come she's acting so cute!?' Kagami blushed madly, 'w-wait sh-she's n-not-th-that is…!' Kagami was lost in his own mind.

"What am I gonna do if I can't join the basketball team?" Kuroko said, her voice still impassive, but Kagami could tell she was at least a bit worried.

Kagami looked at her then sighed; Kuroko heard him and looked up. She was surprised to feel a light jab on her forehead.

Kagami's finger poking her forehead, "Itta" Kuroko said impassively, Kagami smiled and pulled his finger away.

Kuroko rubbed her forehead, "heh" Kuroko blinked and looked to the larger male.

"That's not gonna happen" Kagami said confidently, smiling at her, and for once, trying to cheer her up.

Kuroko who understand that the redhead was trying to cheer her, smiled gently which making the redhead athlete blushed at such sight. "Kagami-kun is being a little ahead of himself, it might not happen"

'She ruined such a heartfelt moment!' Kagami glared at her. 'Ugh why does that matter to me?' Kagami blushed, 'Oh yeah…' Kagami remembered.

"By the way…" Kuroko blinked, "Why didn't you go to some big name school like the Generation of Miracles?" Kagami asked. "You have such good skill and I doubt that anyone can passed from your block or taking ball from your hand, so why?"

Kuroko's eyes flickered with an unknown emotion then it disappeared, the red head noticed, surprised.

Kuroko put her straw up to her mouth and sipped some more of her milkshake.

"…Is there some reason you play basketball?" Kagami asked, Kuroko stopped and placed her shake back on the table.

"Kagami…" Kuroko started as she looked outside the window toward the children who was playing basketball in the nearest hoop. "Why do you play basketball?"

Kagami blinked as he answered, "Of course because I like playing basketball! What else?" He answered as Kuroko smiled.

"Well, unfortunately I am not like that…"

-xXx-

"Eh?"

The younger Kuroko in Teiko Middle School Basketball let out the sound as she was inside the counseling room.

"I am asking about this again," The glasses middle aged man said as he tapped his finger on the scholarship-program paper with the name 'Kuroko Tetsuna'. "Kuroko Tetsuna, I want you to take this scholarship-program for sport-activity.'

"What?"

"Luckily, there are now two empty slots in Sport program thanks to few troublemakers inside the soccer-club and badminton-club." The middle aged man said as he leaned on his chair. "The blame for the Idiocy lies on them, so I've already banished them in the form of their voluntary withdrawal from the course."

"Please wait, sensei…" Kuroko said as the middle aged man looked at her. "I don't have any plan to take the scholarship and I am still in Baseball club…" She said as she showed her determination. "And I already make a promise to take them into Koushien for three years straight."

"Then you can take the two clubs simultaneously." The middle aged man said. "And not to mention that their training schedule isn't clashed at each other…"

"The problem doesn't lie there." Kuroko said as the middle aged man narrowed his eyes.

"So what is the problem?" The middle aged man asked as Kuroko opened her mouth.

"… I don't have any interest in Basketball club." Kuroko said as the middle aged man sighed.

"Then I want you to remind you about your family again…" The middle aged man said as Kuroko eyes widened and her bangs shadowed her eyes.

-xXx-

"So you are forced to play basketball…" Kagami said as Kuroko merely smiling sadly and played with her straw.

"You can say like that," She said as she looked at the redhead. "But the most important is after that I take the scholarship-program and make my place in my second club as the basketball club member with the rest of Generation of Miracles."

She said which the redhead merely looked down. "So you are going to beat them as… Revenge?" He asked as Kuroko smiled.

"Don't worry I never doing something like that…" Kuroko said as she smiled kindly toward him. "I am joining the basketball club to make them realized something that they should, because they want to keep playing with someone like me…"

"Seriously?" Kagami said surprised.

"…Your's and coach's words…" Kagami blinked

"They really stuck to me" Kuroko said, looking back into Kagami's eyes.

"_I focus on only pushing the team toward the national championship!"_

"_I will defeat the Generation of Miracles and become the best player in Japan!"_

"Now…my biggest reason to play is trying to make you and our team the best in Japan" Kuroko said in determination, her eyes showing the burning passion even when she remain expressionless.

Kagami stared at her, then he put his large hand onto her hair and ruffled it.

Slightly surprising Kuroko, but she remained impassive.

"We're not gonna try" Kuroko looked up as the giant let go and stood up.

She looked up at him as he glowered at her, "We're gonna be the best" Kuroko couldn't help but smile at the giant.

"Yeah…" She answered, her heart warming again.

Kagami blushed at the sweet smile she showed, 'Th-that smile…she can actually show such expressions…?' Kagami tried to push down his blush with fail.

"Kagami-kun really is getting ahead of himself" Kuroko deadpanned

"Oi!" Kagami growled.

-xXx-

He walked into his classroom with the distressed look; he then noticed his classmates' attention out the window. 'What's all the commotion?' Kagami walked over to the window, being taller than everyone, he could see easily over everyone. Kagami's eyes widen a bit, then he smirked, chuckling a bit.

On the courtyard in big (Kanji) letters was written, "We Will Be the Best in Japan".

Riko, in her class, watched as the students looked out the window, she smiled. "This could be interesting enough to work" Riko said.

Kagami looked toward the shorthaired girl, noticing some light dirt on Kuroko's sleeve of her sweater, as she read her book impassively as always.

Kagami smiled, grinning at the girl who may seem emotionless, but has a ton of passion.

-xXx-

"…31"

"…32"

"…33"

Kuroko panted as she did a push up with her right hand alone inside some temple.

"Tetsu-chan…" An old voice called as Kuroko stopped her push-up.

"Yeah, grandma…" Kuroko said as she walked outside her room toward the telephone.

"There is a call for you…" The bluish-white haired old woman around 70 years old said giving the phone toward the younger girl.

"Thanks grandma…" Kuroko said as she took the phone, "Hello?"

"Kuroko-chan…" Riko said from across the telephone.

"Coach?"


	3. Chapter 3

"Its too bad many of the guys who signed up just up and quit" Izuki sighed

"If they don't have the guts to deal with Coach's demands, they'll never survive" Hyuga said honestly.

"The way you said that, makes it sound like she's a monster" Koganei smiled nervously.

"But we still got these guys" Koganei looked over to the freshmen trio and Kagami, who were changing.

The freshmen trio blushed in embarrassment, Kagami just finished putting on his shirt.

"And since that phenomenon everyone was talking about is done, Kuroko too!" Koganei smiled, Mitobe beside him smiled and nodded.

"Hai?" Kuroko said as the boys froze; they looked over to see Kuroko carrying a bunch of towels in her hands.

….

"Kuroko!" They yelled, all of them turning red.

Kagami gaped at the girl and blushed, 'D-did she see me change?' he panicked.

"H-how long have you been there!?" Hyuga yelled at the teal haired girl.

"A while, but don't worry, I haven't looked up since I got here" Kuroko said impassively as she put the towels on the bench.

"That's not the point! A girl can't come into the boy's locker room!" Hyuga yelled.

"But I want to change too and my stuff is here." Kuroko said emotionlessly.

Hyuga gritted his teeth at the apparently stubborn girl, "Fine then" he said.

He walked over to a bin of fresh towels; he picked them up in his arms and walked back to the girl, he threw them all over her. "Stay under there until were done!" Hyuga ordered.

"…Okay" she answered, the girl a small lump under the towels.

'Captain really had to go that far…' Furihata and his companion sweat dropped.

Koganei sighed; he looked to his side and noticed something. "Huh? Is this…" Koganei picked up a magazine that was called Basketball Monthly.

"Didn't this issue come out when Kuroko was at Teiko?" Koganei said, looking through the issue.

"Oh" Izuki looked into the magazine as well, "All the players and managers are featured"

They turned page by page, "Kuroko…you're not mentioned even once" Hyuga said.

Kuroko glanced at the magazine from the towel as she answered, "They came but I am in my other business so they forget about me."

'So sad…' Hyuga, Koganei, and Izuki pitied the small lump.

"Furthermore, there were few circumstances involved that prevented me from being interviewed." She added.

"Huh? What kind of circumstances?" Izuki asked with confused look.

"Rather, I wasn't allowed to be interviewed." Kuroko said.

"Huh? What do you mean by that?" Hyuga said as Kuroko remembered about her conversation with a certain red haired Generation of Miracles.

"I wonder…." Kuroko said while smiling under her towel. "Besides, They are coming for the Generation of Miracles and I must admit that they were a genius…"

The team blinked, they wondered just how powerful Kuroko's old teammates were.

"Anyway, we're done so you can start changing" Hyuga said, trying to get everyone to file out.

Kuroko wasted no time, threw the towels off and began to unbutton her shirt before any of them got the chance to leave.

"AH!" everyone yelled with red faces, except for Mitobe who flinched back with a red face.

"N-not yet, Kuroko! Wait for us to leave!" Hyuga yelled, "Eh? But you said-"

"Until we leave!" Hyuga hissed. The whole team ran out with red faces, even Kagami's face was almost as red as his hair.

Kuroko blinked at being left alone after getting yelled at for no reason, in her opinion. The team walked down the hall, each of them trying to push down their blushes.

"Kuroko really is too much…" Kawahara sighed

"Doesn't she realize she's a girl" Koganei sighed as well.

"I think because she hasn't realized that she's acting like this…" Hyuga paled.

'That Kuroko…' Kagami blushed still.

"By the way, where's the coach?" Furihata asked

"She went out to look for an opponent for a practice match" Hyuga explained.

"Ah! I saw her a little while ago, she was skipping when I saw her" Fukuda said.

"She was skipping!?" Hyuga yelled, his face filled with dread.

"Be ready, everyone. If she's skipping, our next opponent's gonna be real tough" Hyuga warned, him and the other upperclassman paled.

'Is the opponent really gonna be tough?' Kagami thought, the freshmen panicked.

Kuroko, dressed in her white shirt under her blue sweater with zipped open and training pants, walked towards them.

She noticed they're pale faces and tilted her head in confusion.

Pass3: I'm Serious

"Ah~ This is Seirin?" a handsome blond, wearing a gray but nice uniform, hummed. "New and pristine, just like I expected" the blond chuckled to himself. He began t walk inside, his hand in his pockets, he gained glances from boys and mostly girls.

"Isn't he hot?"

"He's really good looking!"

"And tall. Wait, is he…"

"The Model!"

The girls murmured, blushes present as the blond walked by them with a smile on his handsome face.

-xXx-

Back at the gymnasium, practice was underway for the members of the Seirin Basketball Club.

Hyuga dribbled the ball and wanted to shoot, but Kagami quickly cut him and dribbled it toward the ring with high speed. Izuki came to block him, but Kagami turned left and passed him.

Awestruck for a couple of seconds, Izuki followed, "Not yet!" he grunted, trying to keep up with the giant's speed. Right under the basket, Kagami spun around Izuki and dunked into the basket.

"So fast!" Furihata said amazed. On the sidelines, the blonde haired girl smiled.

"Oh! Nice shot!" Kawahara cheered,

"He's amazing. Such a quick turn at full speed! He's no ordinary human" Koganei said in awe.

"He might even beat the Generation of Miracles" Satoshi said.

"He might really be able to beat them with that" Furihata said

"That's not an easy maneuver" Kawahara said,

"Maybe he's better than them already" Fukuda said.

Kuroko who heard it eyed Kagami as her mind flashed at the talked that they had few days ago.

"_If you have hidden talent, I wouldn't know. But, from what I've seen, you wouldn't even reach their feet."_

'No… He still has a lot more work to do… But with his current pace, he will b-' Kuroko looked at the red head as she walked toward him and poked the giant's arm; he looked down to her in confusion.

Kuroko then tried poking Kagami on his forehead, but accidently poked him in the eye.

"Itte!" Kagami cried as held his eye

"Oops, I missed" Kuroko said blankly.

"What was that for!?" Kagami yelled toward the teal haired manager

"Kagami-kun's getting a bit big headed, again." Kuroko said with emotionless look

"You didn't have to poke me in the eye!" Kagami yelled.

"…Sumimasen" She apologized, but with a dead emotion.

"The way you said that irritates me!" Kagami gritted his teeth, ready to noogie the girl's head harshly.

"Should we separate them?" Fukuda asked nervously

"I really don't want to be in the middle of that…" Furihata sweat dropped as he saw that the redhead was trying to slam his fist toward the teal haired manager, but still failed as usual.

-xXx-

"Gather around everyone!" Riko called as she entered the room,

"Yes, ma'am!" They yelled. They stood around her, Hyuga sweat nervously at seeing the grin on their coach's face.

"I'm sure you have heard by now, we're going to have a practice match. It's on Saturday against Kaijou High, so you lot better work hard!" Riko announced happily.

"S-Saturday?" Koganei yelled. "That's the day after tomorrow!"

"That aside," Hyuuga added with a horrified expression on his face. "We are playing against Kaijou High School?!"

"That's right."

"Coach, you can't be serious."

"They won't disappoint us. We'll put plenty of first years on the court" Riko said.

"Disappoint us? They're way better than us" Koganei said,

"Are they really that good?" Kawahara asked.

"They're strong at the national level. They play in the Inter-High every year" Hyuga explained.

"And this year, Kaijou got their hands on one of the Generation of Miracles, Kise Ryota" Riko added.

"Ehh?"

"You mean… the Generation of Miracles…!"

Kuroko did not even flinch at the mention of the name. Compared to the rest of the first years, she felt slightly relieved; but that didn't mean that she didn't feel worried.

She glanced towards Kagami, noticing a sneer creep onto his face.

Judging by that look in his eyes, she guessed that he was overjoyed at the prospect of being able to take on the one of the Generation of Miracles so soon.

"Oh, and I heard that Kise works as a model, too…" Hyuuga added in a rather random manner.

"Seriously? That's amazing!"

"Having good looks and being good in basketball?" Koganei huffed. "That's kinda harsh."

"Idiot," Riko sighed, Kuroko twitched and moved behind Kagami, no one noticing.

Riko heard some murmurs and turned to the door, she was surprised to see a long line of blushing girls in the gym.

"Huh? What?" Riko said in surprise,

"What are all these people doing here?" Riko wondered. "Uh, I didn't mean for this to happen" a voice said tiredly. "That's…" Hyuga said, "One of the Generation of Miracles! Kise Ryota!" Riko yelled, 'what is he doing here?' Riko wondered.

Kise, a blond, medium long hair, with pure yellow eyes, is left ear pierced and a silver earing present.

He has a very handsome face and the height of 189 cm, he sat at the front stage, signing autograph after autograph.

'So lucky~' Koganei cried anime tears, him and some of the teammates envious of the blond surrounded by girls.

While in the midst of crying, Furihata finally noticed Kuroko hiding behind the thought-occupied Kagami, her back facing the giant's.

'Kuroko?' he thought confused, Kuroko noticed his gaze. She put her finger on her puckered lips and made a sign for him to stay quiet.

Furihata blushed at such a cute gesture he never expected to see on the impassive girl's face.

He nodded furiously, his face still red.

"Kurokocchi~ I know you're here~" Kise hummed, still signing autographs.

Kuroko flinched, "I've been found" Kuroko said blankly, "Huh? How long have you been behind me!?" Kagami yelled, realizing the teal haired girl hid behind him.

"A while" Kuroko answered, Kagami blushed. Kuroko looked to the blond, she nodded, "Good to see you again" Kuroko said. Kise's eyes widen, but he continued to smile.

"Good to see you too" Kise smiled warmly. The team looked between the two then just stared at the blond.

"Sorry, really. Um…do you think you could wait five minutes? "Kise asked, scratching the back of his head and smiling nervously.

Then the girls pile in even further at seeing his nervous smile, all of them squealing. "Kise-kun has always been popular with the ladies" Kuroko explained with dead emotion.

"R-really? I couldn't tell…" Koganei smiled nervously, kind of jealous.

After the girls were forced out of the gym, Kise hopped down from the stage, "There" he smiled at the group.

"Wh-what are you doing here?" Hyuga asked,

"When I heard our next opponent was Seirin, I remembered Kurokocchi went here, so I thought I'd say hi" Kise explained, "You can say that we're dating in middle school, right?"

"Stop lying, Kise-kun" Kuroko scolded, pulling at the blond's ear, an angry mark on her head but her face still impassive.

"Itte~ Sorry, Kurokocchi~ It was a joke~! A joke~!" Kise whined, tears gathered in the corner of his eyes.

'He was joking!?' the team paled, Kagami was shaking in anger.

'W-why do I feel angry? Its not like I care if Kuroko dated or not' Kagami thought, but he still gritted his teeth.

After holding his ear for a while, Kuroko released him, and Kise smiled nervously while rubbing his bruised ear.

"Ehehe, I wasn't lying about us being best friends though" Kise said.

"Not any more than anyone else" Kuroko deadpanned

"You're so mean~!" Kise cried anime tears.

The team sweat dropped at the model acting like a child, Kagami felt his anger build.

"Kise Ryota, though he started basketball his second year of middle school, his exceptional physical ability and sense got him on the Teiko team as a regular in a heartbeat" Furihata read the article in the magazine. "While he has less experience than the other four, he's a rapidly improving all-rounder"

"Since your second year?" Hyuga gaped

"That article exaggerated quite a bit" Kise said, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. "I'm glad to be called part of the Generation of Miracles, but I'm the worst of the bunch" Kise said.

"They bullied me and Kurokocchi for it all the time" Kise laughed,

"Hmm, that never happened to me" Kuroko deadpanned.

"What~!? It was just me?" Kise cried anime tears again.

"Kise-kun has always been a crybaby" Kuroko said blankly,

"Maybe I was alone~! You bullied me too~!" Kise cried.

Kise's eyes then narrowed, he stood in front of Kuroko and stopped a basketball aimed for him with one hand. "Itte~! What was that for?" Kise whined, Kagami being the one who threw the ball.

"Kagami-kun!"

"Kagami!"

His teammates gaped at him, Kuroko being the only one staring at him blankly.

"Sorry for interrupting your little middle school reunion. Don't tell me you came all the way here just to greet us" Kagami grinned excitedly. "Why don't you play with me a little, pretty boy?"

"What~? I don't know if I'm ready~" Kise said tiredly,

'Damn pretty boy…!' Kagami growled.

"But…" Kise continued, "just because your form of challenge almost hit Kurokocchi, I'll accept" Kise glared at him.

Kagami was surprised to see him dead serious, he glanced at the impassive Kuroko then the smiling playfully Kise.

'I don't understand, but as long as I get a match' Kagami grinned.

"Unbelievable~" Riko sighed tiredly,

"This could be bad" Kuroko said, surprising Riko.

"Huh?" Riko said as she looked at Kuroko who glanced back at the two.

Kise took off his coat and handed it to Kuroko, "keep it safe, k~" Kise grinned.

"Ok" Kuroko nodded, 'still so cute~' Kise hummed in his mind, grinning at the smaller girl.

Kagami was holding the ball and waited for the blond, but he glared at him from behind, getting irritated.

"Lets go already!" Kagami growled,

"Ah, coming~" Kise went over to the red head.

Kise began to dribble, and just as quickly Kise passed him, Kagami following. Kagami kept up but then easily Kise spun around Kagami, then jumped for a dunk. Riko gasped.

"He learns plays as soon as he sees them and makes them his own" Kuroko said,

'But, this is beyond simple imitation' Riko thought.

'This is ridiculous! I just did that, but…you've gotta be kidding!' Kagami jumped up to knock the ball out of the blonde's grasp.

"Kagami's on fire, too!" Fukuda exclaimed.

Kagami grabbed the ball about to be dunked and tried to push it off, but then it was shoved in harshly, pushing the giant away. 'He's quicker than me. Stronger, too!' Kagami fell on his back, Kise landed on his feet flawlessly.

"This is the Generation of Miracles" Kawahara said in awe,

"Kuroko, your friend's way too good" Furihata said to the small girl.

"…I don't know that person" Kuroko said

"Huh?" Kawahara responded.

"To be honest, I may have underestimated him until now" Kuroko said, "It's only been a few months since I left them, but the Generation of Miracles have been evolving far more quickly than I expected"

After explaining that Kuroko narrowed her eyes, 'As I thought they are becoming stronger as well…'

"I don't know about this" Kise sighed, scratching the back of his head.

"Huh?" Kagami said confused, he then stood up.

"After something so disappointing, I can't just leave now" Kise said loud enough for the whole team to hear.

'Huh?' they all thought confused.

Kise walked over to the teal haired girl still holding his jacket. He stood in front of her and smiled, "Give us Kurokocchi~" Kise hummed.

The team was confused. "Come join us" Kise said simply, his hands in his pockets, "lets play basketball together again" Kise said.

'Eh!?' they all thought surprised, Kagami flinched.

"I seriously respect you, Kurokocchi" Kise said honestly, "It's a waste of a player at your caliber to stay here" Kise said honestly.

'Player at your caliber…' Riko thought inside herself.

Kuroko just stayed silent as she answered, "Sorry. But I refuse" Kuroko bowed.

"EH!?" everyone yelled at the girl's dead and quick response. Instead of acting childishly and cry, Kise was seriously surprised.

"That doesn't make any sense. Besides, this isn't like you. Winning was everything! Why didn't you go somewhere better!? Are you already forget about our vow?" Kise shouted as Kagami eyes widened.

'Vow?' Kagami thought glancing at the teal haired girl.

"I am not forgetting about that…" Kuroko answered blankly as she looked at him with serious emotionless eyes. "Because of that I will declare that I will bring this school into National."

"It really isn't like you to joke around like that" Kise said disbelieving.

"Hehehe" Kise blinked and turned to Kagami, who chuckled from behind him. 'This is the Generation of Miracles? They really are amazing! And there are four more guys stronger than him! I can't help but smile!' Kagami was smiling excitedly.

"Kagami-kun's acting like a predatorily animal" Kuroko deadpanned,

"What do you mean by that!? "Kagami yelled.

"What are you saying, Kuroko?" Kagami walked passed the blond and towards the small girl.

"I was going to say that" Kagami grinned, jabbing a finger on Kuroko's forehead with a little force.

'That's for earlier, Baka….' Kagami thought.

Kuroko rubbed her forehead, 'She wants to help him defeat us?' Kise thought in disbelief, then Kuroko's eyes stared straight into Kise, he could tell.

Kuroko was dead serious.

"I still have no sense of humor. I'm serious" Kuroko said, her feeling not wavering. Kise blinked in surprise, to actually see Kuroko determined after a long time.

'Those eyes…I've missed the determination in them…' Kise thought.

Kise smiled, Kagami grinned, Kuroko remained impassive but determined.


	4. Chapter 4

"RUN FASTER! OR I'LL TRIPLE THE NUMBER OF RUNS YOU HAVE TO MAKE!"

The bellowing voice of Seirin High's student-coach Aida Riko could be heard screaming at her players as they did their usual drills and warm-ups around the court before they actually got to the real training.

"I-Isn't she even more tedious than usual?" Koganei Shinji wheezed, trying to force his aching legs to press on even faster as he jumped to catch the ball before throwing it to Mitobe.

"Don't let Riko hear you say that." Hyuuga warned in a whisper.

"By the way, where's Kuroko?" Izuki Shun asked, glancing around and checking the entire gym just in case. One will never know in the case of Kuroko after all. "I hadn't seen her around yet."

"Oh, she took the day off today for some reason. Something about school project," Hyuga informed his teammates.

"School project!? At time like this!" Koganei said, surprised and shocked. "The match with Kaijo High School is just three days away after all." He said as Hyuuga merely shrugged.

-xXx-

The day of Seirin's match with Kaijo High dawned bright and clear.

The entire Seirin team was all on time, all looking refreshed and eager for their match against a National-level team, and also against a member of the legendary basketball team – the Generation of Miracles.

And as they walked through Kaijo High in search of the gym, the players marveled at the size of the school as well as how big it was. Seirin pales in comparison to Kaijo, as Kaijo is easily nearly three times the size of Seirin.

It could quite easily pass off as a college campus.

"This place is huge." Hyuuga commented as they walked through the school, admiring the different buildings in the school.

Apparently, the sports facilities of Kaijo were in a separate building from the classrooms, unlike Seirin where the sports facilities and classrooms were all in the same building.

"You can really tell when a school is devoted to its facilities." The captain commented, spotting several athletes running on the treadmills in a gym that they've passed by. The gym itself had several on-the-top equipment as well.

Kagami had looked scarier than usual when he had joined up with the rest of the team at Seirin before they had headed to Kaijo High together.

For some reason, his eyes are more bloodshot than usual, and he had bags beneath his eyes.

"You look terrible," Kuroko commented, looking up at Kagami's face.

His eyes are bloodshot and dark, as if some kind of tragedy had happened the night before. Kagami looks away, mumbling. "What was that, Kagami-kun?"

Scowling, Kagami says louder, "I couldn't sleep because I was too excited!" He says, flushing, and Kuroko shakes her head slightly.

POKE

"Itai!" Kagami touched his head as he was just being poked by Kuroko who looked at her with her blue eyes.

"Please be careful with your body more Kagami-kun, you are after all very precious for me." Kuroko said with a very cute emotionless face as Kagami blushed at Kuroko remark.

'T-This girl… S-She is really unbelievab-'

"And please the others too, ok?" Kuroko quickly added, ruining the atmosphere between the two.

'Damn it… Why is this feels so heavy and hurt?' Kagami thought while crying anime tears and grabbing her chest.

Suddenly, Hyuuga groaned. "Oh man, here comes the welcoming committee," he muttered tiredly while looking cross.

Kuroko looked up, only to see Kise running forward extremely fast, still looking like a model in his plain black basketball shorts and his orange tank top.

"Hey~! Kurokocchi~!" He yells, latching onto Kuroko with a quick hug before balancing an arm over her shoulders. "The school grounds of Kaijou are super huge, not to mention totally impossible to navigate. I get lost sometimes! So I came here to show you to the right gym~!" He explains, and Hyuuga grunts.

"Thank you," Aida says in his stead, and Kagami crosses his arms, glaring at him.

"Oi, Kise, I'll beat you today, so you'd better-"

"Kurokocchi, you know my offer is still on the table right this very second, right?" Kise asks, completely disregarding Kagami.

Smoke blows from Kagami's ears as Kise looks at Kuroko seriously.

"I know, Kise-kun," she says honestly. Kise sighs, tears building in his eyes.

"I've cried myself to sleep for the past few days, due to your cruel denial to my wonderful proposal! You know, I've never been denied, especially not by females!" He sobs and wails, clutching onto Kuroko for support.

For her part, Kuroko simply walks, not seeming to pay much attention to the model attached to her hip.

TWITCH

"EXCUSE ME!" Kagami suddenly said, taking Kuroko away from the model.

"Hey~ What's wrong with you?" Kise asked as Kagami glared at the model with angry face.

"I'm sorry, but it seems that you didn't realize but our manager is a bit uncomfortable there, so can you please a bit move away…" He said as sparks flying between their eyes with the teal haired girl between them sighed.

-xXx-

"This is it."

It had been a rather long walk from the school's entrance to the gymnasium where the basketball team always practiced, and like what Kise had mentioned earlier, this is just one of the three gymnasiums that Kaijo High had, since they're a nationally renowned school for their sports teams.

Sounds of shouts and sneakers squeaking on the courts could be heard as they approached the gymnasium.

Seirin was soon greeted with the sight of Kaijo players practicing on one side of the court, with the other side being occupied by some Kaijo players who are obviously their opponents, chatting among themselves.

"We're…playing on half a court?" Riko echoed. "The other side's being used for practice?"

A rather portly looking man in his late forties that is inspecting a clipboard noticed their group just then and approached them. Kuroko recognized the man from Kise's talks about his new high school, and that this man is the basketball coach, Takeuchi Genta.

"You're here. Welcome." Takeuchi greeted them. "I'm the coach, Takeuchi." He then raised a semi-confused eyebrow as he scanned the group, but spotted no one whom he thinks is the coach. "By the way, which one of you is the coach?"

He glanced over the Seirin players. It isn't uncommon for high school teams these days to have player-coaches, usually players that are at National level, as not every school could afford to hire a professional coach to coach the students.

Hence, Takeuchi was very surprised when the girl whom he thinks is the team manager introduced herself as the coach.

"You're not the manager?" Takeuchi spluttered.

Riko frowned. This isn't the first time that an opposing school had mistaken her as a manager, but seriously, this is getting a little old.

"I'm the coach, Aida Riko," she proclaimed. "We look forward to playing with you today!" She gave a polite bow. "By the way, what is this?" She glanced over at the half-court that Kaijo's players were practicing their drills on.

"Exactly what it looks like." Takeuchi stated. "We've only made simple arrangements for today's game."

"Arrangements?" Riko asked, trying to keep her cool.

Takeuchi sighed, "There won't be enough to learn from this game to make it worth watching for the guys sitting out. We're having the other players practice as usual so we don't waste time." He continued on absent-mindedly, apparently missing the looks of anger reflected on the faces of all of the Seirin players. "Despite the arrangements, you'll be playing our regulars. I hope you won't let us triple your score."

A black aura surrounds all the members of the opposing team, but it was mostly centered around Riko and Kuroko.

"They think we suck!" Kagami roared quietly to Kuroko. "They're treating us like a sideshow to their practice!"

Kuroko, while angry herself, placed a hand on the red head back. "Calm down, Kagami-kun. We need to play as a team, or there is not point playing at all. When you get angry, you play like it is yourself against the other team."

Kagami took a deep breath. "Yes, ma'am." He said as the others seirin members sighed.

Kise was in the middle of putting on the top of his basketball uniform, when Takeuchi suddenly shouted at him, "Why are you putting on your uniform? You won't be playing today!"

"Eh, but coach…" Kise began protesting, but the older male cut him off.

"You're on a completely different level from the other aces we've recruited from middle school. It's already unfair with the other players, so if you play, it won't even be a match!" He shouted, and Aida's jaw clenches. She can almost hear Hyuuga's glasses snap and Kagami's fists clench.

Kise turned around to face his opponents, "Sorry, I'm really sorry, but it seems I'll be on the bench! If you just rattle coach a bit, I'm sure he'll put me into play! Sorry if that sounds selfish, but if you can't even get me to play, then you have no right to say that you want to defeat the Generation of Miracles!"

Kagami narrowed his eyes and Kuroko still stayed impassively as she walked toward the coach, "Excuse me, but can we start the game now... Because they are already very warm up now." She said as behind her Seirin members were giving him their killing intent.

-xXx-

"I can't believe these guys! Do they really think they're so much better than us?!" Hyuuga shouted while changing, tapping his foot in annoyance while watching Izuki stalk back and forth on the floor of the locker room.

"Well, they do make it to the Inter high every single year. Also, even though we made it... we got destroyed in the first round. They have every reason to underestimate us," Koganei justified, although even the usually happy cat-boy looks put down.

"That's no excuse for how disrespectful they're being," Izuki stated with a frown, looking deeply upset.

If there's one think Kuroko admires about her admitted favorite senpai, other than his good puns, then it's his empathy and social skills. It makes him extremely respectful and honest; loyal, too.

It's obvious that this situation would upset him.

"There is nothing to it," Kuroko said suddenly, drawing all attention to her-self. "We will just have to show them how incorrect they are through the way we play basketball." A terrifying grin spreads across Riko's face.

"So you have a plan, Kuroko-chan…" RIko asked as Kuroko nodded.

"I have one," Kuroko said as she looked toward Izuki. "Izuki-senpai, first I want you to steal the ball from Kaijou and then Kagami I want you to dunked as hard as you can, that's all."

"That seems a little harsh, says Mitobe," Koganei pipes up, and Riko crosses her arms, clipboard held firmly in her left hand.

"It may seem that way, Mitobe, but did you see the way they acted around us? They think they're going to be able to walk all over us, walk all over Seirin, and encounter no problems on the way. Is that what you want to happen?" She asked calmly, knowing how gentle the silent teenager is.

He looks down, then looks at Koganei and makes a few strange hand gestures.

"Mitobe says that he understands, and that you can go on with Kuroko's plan," Koganei said while smiling, and Kuroko coughed to regain her teammate attention toward her.

"Okay! After they sub Kise-kun in, Kagami-kun will show off the skills that we've been honing for the past week." She said emotionlessly as the Seirin cheered and walked from the changing room.

"Kuroko-chan…" Riko called the manager. "I want you to warm up… If Kagami-kun can't handle Kise alone then it means we must sub you in."

"So we are going with plan-S?" Kuroko asked as Riko nodded, remembering at what happens that day.

-xXx-

SWOSH

Kuroko suddenly took the ball from Riko's hand as her eyes widened in surprise with the skill that the teal haired manager showed.

"Kuroko-chan, as I thought you are really him." Riko said, smiling excitedly. "You are really the phantom sixth player!"

Kuroko nodded her head as she looked down while smiling thinly, "As I thought, I can't deceive your eyes coach…" She said as Riko looked at her.

"Then why?" Riko asked. "You have a skill that was far more than amazing! Hell even I haven't seen any player like you in my life! So why? Why don't you play as player and take a manager position?" She asked as Kuroko looked down as she opened her mouth.

-xXx-

PAT

The hand stopped Kuroko from her thought as she looked at the older girl.

"I'm sorry to force you like this…" She mumbled as the teal haired girl smiled at the older girl.

"It's okay… I already getting used to that." Kuroko said while smiling.

-xXx-

"With that, let the practice game between Seirin High and Kaijo High begin."

The starting players from both teams were quick to line up at the center line, and the referee looked between both teams in confusion as he held the ball under one arm.

Riko had made the team promise that the game would start off with a gigantic bang in revenge for having Seirin play on only half a normal basketball court.

Of course, all the starting players were nervous and scared of her, so they hastily agreed. Kuroko was standing next to brown-haired coach by the bench, clipboard in hand. Just taking one glance at the players of Kaijou's team, Riko could tell that Seirin was outmatched in terms of physical stats.

She grimaced and thought, '_Crap, this doesn't look too good. Their stats are all way above ours! This is a national-level team…'_

At tip-off time, the referee blew his whistle and being the tallest player on the court, Kobori was able to throw the ball to Kasamatsu.

The captain of the opposing team casually dribbled and gave out directions to his teammates, but Izuki took the opportunity to quickly steal the basketball. He jogged in the direction of Kaijou's hoop and performed a pass to Seirin's newest player.

Once the ball was in his hands, Kagami dashed forward and dunked it in powerfully–so powerful that when he landed back on the group, he took the hoop down with him. He cheered, pumping his fists in the air, not realizing that he was holding a little something extra. Everyone in the immediate vicinity stared incredulously at the fiery redhead.

"He… took the hoop down…" One of the members of Kaijou's basketball club, who was currently warming up, muttered. Hearing this, Kagami glanced at his hands.

"GWOH!" He looked just as shocked as everyone else, "Whoa, this thing is bigger than my head!"

Izuki analyzed the backboard and noted, "The screws are rusted… this means we're screwed."

Off on the side, Kuroko looked slightly worried and ran over with Riko to apologize to Kaijou's coach.

Riko mischievously smiled as she spoke, "Sorry, but I'm afraid we won't be able to play like this. Could we use the full court?"

"We truly are sorry for the inconvenience." The blue-haired girl added, even as she pushed down Kagami's head in a bow – not an easy thing to do, considering the fact that Kagami is at least two heads taller than she is. "Since we can't play like this, could we use the full court?"

At this moment, Takeuchi looked as if he were about to burst a nerve.

-xXx-

Meanwhile, Kise was laughing his ass off even as he watched the other players of Kaijo clean up the court to continue the practice game, with Takeuchi finally using the full court for the match instead of a half-court.

"Now that's what I call a beating." Kise finally managed to stop himself laughing long enough to say. "I've never seen the coach like that before."

Kagami growled. "You should tell him that that's what he gets for underestimating us!"

Kuroko looked between the two boys before turning towards Kagami. "Kagami-kun, how much do you think that a replacement hoop will cost?" she asked emotionlessly, walking away to take her position on the court.

Kagami stared at her with wide eyes, obviously having never thought of that. "E-Eh? We have to pay for that?"

"If we do, it is coming out of your pocket." Kuroko replied. "You're the one who broke it after all."

Kagami looked as if someone had just kicked his puppy, whilst Takeuchi looked as if he is about to burst a blood vessel as he roared for Kise.

"With that, let the game resume!" The referee shouted as the courts was ready for the continuation of the game. The players on both teams have also settled back on the court, all in their positions. The reserve players of Kaijo were all in the stands, all looking excited.

Kagami grinned as he saw Kise entering the courts. Kise smirked at the redhead. "Sorry to keep you waiting."

"You're finally in."

"You're way too intense for a model when you're on." Hyuuga commented.

"All of you be careful," Kuroko warned. "He is not just putting the show."

To herself, Riko thought, Now that I see him again… He's a monster! His stats are through the roof!

All of a sudden, all that could be heard throughout Kaijou's gym was "KYAAA, KISE-KUN!"

Hyuuga jumped in surprise again, "Whoa, what the hell?"

Kasamatsu, who was standing nearby, was the one to reply, "Oh, that? That always happens whenever he's playing. Actually… How long are you going to keep waving at them?!"

While saying this, the dark-haired captain kicked Kise on the back. Kise muttered several apologies, as he was wincing in pain.

"I'll hit you if you continue!" Kasamatsu growled and the taller teen could only whimper out, "You already did…"

Kasamatsu smacked him again, except this time his target was the other's shoulder, "Do you even understand the situation right now, Kise? Since they introduced themselves in such a spectacular way, it would be rude if we don't return the favour!"

As Kasamatsu was scolding their freshman ace, Moriyama was busy scanning the girls that had gathered in the area. Sadly, no one caught his eye, until he looked over to Seirin's bench and noticed a fair-skinned female with beautiful azure hair and matching eyes.

"Ah~ I've found the maiden I want to play for today!" The shooting guard for Kaijou exclaimed with great enthusiasm. Kasamatsu and Kise turned their attention to their teammate.

When the blonde player saw that Moriyama was full on staring at Kuroko, he scowled, a dark look passing over his face. However, no one noticed the one-sided interaction.

The game begins again with a bang, and Kagami reaches the ball first again. Again, he finds himself reveling on the noticeable change in his jumps. He passes toward Izuki, who, equipped with his Eagle Eyes, can always discern the best pass courses. But, much to his surprise, somebody is already waiting.

Too late, he realizes. The ball has already left his hands, flying toward Kise Ryouta's outstretched arm. Kagami internally swears and Riko eyes widened. 'Fast! How fast is that guy!?' She thought.

Kise bursts through Seirin's lines, eyes slightly narrowed and sharpened to deadly points. "Watch and learn!" Kise shouts, voice darker than Kagami has ever heard it. He jumps, and the ball flies into the hoop, with both of his hands firmly grasping the basket. The entire hoop groans, the bolts pulling taut and straining not to snap.

Kise falls to the ground with a thump. Kagami swallows. He isn't an idiot; Kise's dunk was much more powerful than his own. Shut up! He yells at the small part of his brain that still retains the 'flight' instinct. You've prepared for this! You've begun the training Kuroko gave you, haven't you? So stop being so pathetic! Fight for what you want!

"Tch. Hey, it was pretty good, I'll give you that," Kagami says nonchalantly, yawning. Kise frowns, and Kasamatsu kicks him lightly. The blond winces, more in surprise than pain.

"You idiot! I told you to return the favor! They ripped off our hoop!" He exclaims, and Kise laughs sheepishly.

"Yeah, well... that one isn't rusted. But Kasamatsucchi, we wouldn't be able to play if I had done that! Shouldn't you be happy that I didn't take off the hoop?" He asks, and Kasamatsu scowls.

"Whatever," he mumbles, still looking slightly irked.

-xXx-

The players of both teams were panting like crazy, and currently trying to cool themselves down with the two minute time out asked by Riko.

With how tired that they all are, one wouldn't even guess that they've only been playing for five minutes. It had been an intense five minutes, with the pace at which both teams have been switching between offense and defense.

The current score is now at 25:22, with Kaijo in the lead.

"Seriously, this isn't easy." Yoshitaka commented, glancing at Kasamatsu.

"Yeah, that freshmen duo is brutal." Kasamatsu agreed. "You should be able to handle Kagami." He added, glancing at Kise who is sitting beside him. "But what's with that invisible girl? That isn't normal."

Kise grinned goofily like an idiot at the mere mention of his former teammate. "I know, right?" Kise grinned like some lunatic. "Kurokochi's actually—"

"Why the hell are you so happy?" Kasamatsu shouted, pissed, as he punched Kise in the stomach.

"It's okay." Kise stated, removing Kasamatsu's fist from his stomach. "Because with the score like this then she doesn't have any choice except to do that." He said while smiling as he fixed his eyes at the red haired player.

'He is playing too good today, hell! He even qualified to stand in the same spot as uncrowned Kings or other players at their caliber…' Kise thought as he smiled. 'Well it is not weird if we calculate that Kuroko is his personal trainer…'

Kise narrowed his eyes, 'But you should know this Kuroko-chi… Your team will be annihilated if you didn't come out soon…'

-xXx-

Over with Seirin, Riko was trying to come up with an effective enough plan with the two minutes that they have in order to counter Kise, as Kagami alone apparently isn't enough to stop the blonde.

"Anyway, we have to deal with Kise-kun first," said Riko.

"I can't believe that Kagami can't handle the guy by himself." Hyuuga commented. "Should we put another guy on him?"

"Huh? Hey, wait a damn…" Kagami caught himself in mid-sentence. "Please."

"Please?" Riko echoed in confusion.

Before Kagami can say anything, Kuroko suddenly said. "No, there is a way." Kuroko said, and all eyes were now on her. Everyone, Kagami and Riko especially, have their full attention on her. "That guy has a weakness."

"Eh?"


End file.
